Oxygen masks ?
 

As a 60s something who has travelled extensively and someone who always pays attention to the passenger breifing I have a question about the oxygen mask advice.

It never varies of course from airline to airline - something along the lines of "pull down firmly on the mask to start the oygeny flow ...."

How firmly does one have to pull down - and if you pull too hard will it rip the tube off of the delivery device?

Cheers

You don't have to pull that hard to start the oxygen flowing, the pulling action is to release a pin in the unit to start the flow of oxygen. As for breaking the thing I would say you'd have to be pretty forceful to do that.

however, we are trained to put the masks in the overhead stowage following a decompression (when the oxygen has run out and the aircraft levelled out obv) yet we are not told how to disconnect them. so i can only assume that they come away by pulling them hard.....:uhoh:

They twist off, in a similar fashion to the way you attach and detach masks from the portable oxygen bottles.

Basically, give them a bit of a push and twist and off they pop (bit like changing a light bulb :})

VODKAHOLIC:
Do you mean to say your company expects you to go round disconnecting 150+ masks and then attempt to stuff them into already full overhead lockers? After a decompression? Won't you be otherwise occupied? Are you sure someone's not pulling your leg?:)

i think GET OUT is misreading the topic here. they are thinking about the portable o2. we are talking about the drop down o2 here. you cannot disconnect the tubes from the generators on this occasion, they are fixed to the generator, and cannot be removed

I've had to use the drop down oxygen masks in a decompression.

All the masks deployed, but as it turned out mine did not have any oxygen flowing to it (although the 2nd mask which my colleague was using was fine). I had to move into the cabin and use an extra passenger mask.

I was not aware of anybody else reporting any problems with their masks, and from memory the bag had torn away from the mask.

I know I managed to dismantle several carts and secure the galley in about 20 seconds flat (but have no idea how looking back), which I am sure was entirely because of adrenaline kicking in, and my extra strength at that moment in time may well have been the cause of my damaged oxygen mask.

Luckily all ended well with no further dramas, but my advice would be not to pull the mask too hard! :ok:

If your airline's procedure is to dismantle carts and secure the galley THEN fit the nearest oxygen mask and secure yourself, perhaps you should suggest to your company to reconsider your safety procedures. You should always fit an oxygen mask as an immediate priority. Your T.U.C. may only be 20 seconds depending on your altitude.

Actually GEAR DOWN I am referring to the drop down masks and yes they can be disconnected. I have seen the drop down masks and how they connect (we had a spare one on board an aircraft last year to use with the demo kit as the demo mask was damaged, this gave me the chance to see how they connect up).

some series of aircraft (one of the 747 types - correct me if i'm wrong) have theraputic oxygen supplied from a fixed overhead source. But a majority of types don't have this so bottles are carried.

and I should add, the fixed theraputic oxygen systems are separate from the emergency drop down masks

same bottle
 

Very often they are all fed from the same bottle.

Some systems have O2 generators in the overhead drop downs. (valuejet).

Sometimes the theraputic is a walk round type bottle, and sometimes a wall or panel mounted socket, that takes the walk round mask couplings, as well as its own mask.

former

Hi, I am sorry to say but, the drop down masks can not be disconected, as it is a generator, when it has been activated it last for 12-15 min and that's about it.

agpukcrew, oxygen masks CAN be disconnected, however you can not shut off the oxygen supply from the oxygen generator as it is a chemical reaction.

From Vodkaholic's posting at 3rd place in this thread we have been discussing whether the masks can be disconnected, as in whether they can be detached. I said in post number 4 that they can, I also reiterated in post number 9 that they can be removed.

Here is a photo of a drop down oxygen mask:
http://www.ppp.aero/distribution/ima...ger-mask-1.jpg

As you can see on the right hand side of the picture, the mask has a connector which can easily be connected and disconnected from the generator. I asked an engineer today, he confirmed that the masks can be disconnected and connected from the generators.

well, we are asked all the time what we would do with the oxygen masks that are hanging, as if they stayed hanging there on landing the cabin would not be very secure. obviously we are told to carry out all other duties first (immediate care, administer portable oxygen, check toilets, secure galley etc.) but we are told that we need to detach the oxygen masks and the best place to put them is in the overheads lol. i don't know how this would work in reality!!

Getoutofmygalley Sorry my falt, missunderstood the meaning!!!

Getoutofmygalley.

Careful there.

It might be specific to the aircraft you fly on, or the airline you work for.

I can tell you for a fact that the airlines we do maintenance for, none of them are as you describe. The A300's, A319/320/321's, 757/767's that I have worked on all have tubes that are murder to disconnect. You either pull the tube with such force that after a few of them your fingertips are sore, cut them, or apply heat to stretch the plastic. I always groan when I am tasked with changing them due to discoloration, damage, or life-ex.

PaNMaN